. This is a discussion on Hyundai Xcent S 1.2 - My Daily Commute - Owner's View (3rd Service Update @ Pg.13) within Ownership Reviews. Part of The Automotive Reviews category; This is my first ever ownership review. Bear with me if the review is a bit long or anything objective.
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This is my first ever ownership review. Bear with me if the review is a bit long or anything objective.

Eventough we have a bunch of cars(M800,XUV,Figo & Santro(Sold-Out Now) and few more) in our (joint) family, i got very little chance to drive them. There starts my car quest and it was passive for quite some time due to very bad financial situation of mine. Fast forward to 2013, I have to move to Coimbatore for personal reasons and let me tell you something about this so called city, public transportation is a joke. My daily commute is around 40km two-way. Was using my brother's bike for sometime. But the mixture of city(30%)/highway(70%) drive in splendor is not so splendid, and it night times, it is very bad with all time high-beamers. So decided to buy an used car, which will be good deal considering I have a newborn and will be helpful in case of taking him somewhere. Hunt begins and ends like a thunder. Within 2 weeks, i got myself a used Alto(2009 Model) on Dec 2013. That is the greatest moment of my life. I felt like i achieved something(Sounds funny, but true!).

I absolutely loved the car, and after a general checkup the car was good to drive. It was all good until the summer, where my kid sweats even under the flow blown A/C of Alto. Under extreme sun,our beloved Alto's A/C struggled to keep us cool. With AC always on, FE dropped to as bad as 13kmpl and sometimes even 12kmpl. I don't mind if FE dropped to 13-14kmpl but it is of no use. The AC is not helping us or FE. We did all we could but ended up in vein. I will not blame this mere 800cc+ puny engine. It is doing it's job but it is not keeping up with the global warming. Long story short, we needed a new car.

Started looking at various car's and finally shortlisted few. Till this point, i was still confused whether to go with Petrol or Diesel, so TD both Petrol as well as Diesel, except Celerio/Polo.

Polo
+ Most fun to drive car, out of all i have TDed
+ Punchy engine
- Seriously cramped rear space, even for me(i'm 5'8")
- Pricing and poor A.S.S is not in favour

Grand i10
+ Balanced package
+ Looks different than other HB
+ Good FE
+ Excellent pricing
+ Decent rear legroom
- Not for enthusiatic driver(i know i am not, but this is my initial thought and later i compromised on this)
- Fixed head-rest

Xcent
+ Same as Grand i10 + boot(which will be useful in case of occasional trips)
- Same as Grand i10

Amaze
+ Awesome engine.
+ Excellent mileage
- Very long waiting period
- Pricing
- Once again Honda, plain dashboard with nothing else to name as features

Now the decision between Petrol/Diesel. It might looks like my running is high, but after few months it will decrease in a phenomenal way, from 40km to 5km(depending on new job), and one more thing was Initial cost and EMI is tad but high for Diesel, considering I only have 1L in my hand for down-payment. So for me, it makes sense to go for Petrol.

After a couple of months of TD, my mind is oscillating over Xcent/Amaze. Been to both showrooms and Xcent being new, no one was offering any discounts. But the same for Amaze was a shocker. While TDing Amaze, i noticed that NVH levels are so damn high on speeds above 60-70kmph which is my regular speed. So with a heavr heart dropped the idea of getting a Honda.

I never say Xcent blew my mind away etc. But from VFM point of view, it ticks all boxes. Backseat comfort, packed with features, good A/C. So booked Xcent S 1.2 Sleeky Silver around June 1st weekend. Cut to the chase, car reached stockyard June 22. Went there to do PDI and everything was OK. Checked VIN and verified all information. Planned to take delivery next monday. But then comes stupid mistake from SA. He never requested Form 20 and because of that delivery was moved to June 28. Meanwhile my mom & dad pressed me to do pooja at-least by Saturday. So we took the car out for spin and my heart was racing throughout the drive. It was the joy, that is dancing in my heart? Left the car at showroom after pooja. It was pretty intense moment for me. I can't stop thinking about my car and it was driving me crazy. I used to check Xcent reviews and sigh at looking at Xcent images. Then comes the day, went to showroom early, but this day is not excited as it should be. My wife got sick, so had to go with my brother.

Took delivery of my car, my brother took the wheel for sometime then gave it back to me. The moment i touch the steering, it was different. I felt like a King(too much!!!). I was full of pride and joy, and fulfilling. Took my wife, kid and my sister and show them around the town. Everyday i am loving the car very much and it is a big step for me, coming from Alto to Xcent as my daily commute.

Let's get into details :

Engine - I chose petrol solely for it's refinement and cheap pricing. My running is around 1000 km/month. But that doesn't stop me from choosing petrol. All my family cars are Diesel except Santro. And i remember the days I learned driving car using Santro. It was zippy, fun and whatnot. After that I missed the taste of Petrol engine and after sitting in both Diesel as well as Petrol Variant, without any thought i chose Petrol. Now this 1.2L VTVT is not much fun to drive on highways. But in city drive it is real joy. For my sedate style, this accompanies me well. But in highways, turbo lag is apparent and I need to down shift 80% of time to overtake. But that is not a deal breaker for me, as i never drive in a rush. Hyundai did a great job with NVH levels, because of that without realizing i reach speeds in excess of 80+, cause even at 80, it feels like 50. Kudos to Hyundai!

Handling - Whoever telling Xcent steering is lifeless, I must say you are wrong. Everyday commute is 70% highways and I occasionally reach 100+ speeds and never once felt lifeless. If none, it weighs up in high speed and makes the handling much comfortable. City driving made pleasurable with EPS and light clutch. I personally hate clutch with long throws and this one doesn't get me started there. Gear need a special mention. It is butter smooth. Easy to hold.
Suspension is soft and absorbs small potholes with ease. But at big potholes, one need to handle it carefully. GC is little bit on lower side, thanks to this, i managed to scrape off bottom in huge bump near my office the second day.

Features & Interior : Moment i entered Xcent cabin, it felt like a premium car. Fit & Finish is excellent, even panels gaps are not there. Black & Beige looks cool and makes cabin airy. The quality is not what i have seen in this category. Shame on you MS,VW, Honda or anyone out there.

Features list is endless and don't mention it here. Steering mounted controls spoilt me. While driving Alto, i was looking for one :D .
Music player is excellent and BT works as it supposed to be. Microphone placed just above drivers head, so never had an issue. Internally adjustable/fold-able ORVM is a boon. Especially in city parking. And a lot more. Still i am wondering how other manufacturers excluded these and I don't think if i ever going to buy one without these anymore.

Albeit all these features list, Hyundai missed out one crucial thing. MID. One word for that, Bullsh1t. Why would I need to know the engine running time and avg speed. What were they smoking while designing MID. Hoping for a update for that!!!

Also i could have opted for S(O) but i was in tight budget and extending additional 70k seems hitting me harder. But i miss ABS/Airbags and my next will surely have this.

Space : Front seats have ample space which is a must for me, because 60% of commute will be 2 passengers on-board. Rear leg room is OK compared to contenders, if not better. Amaze has cramped rear seat according to my mom. My mom & dad happy with the space and that is more than enough for me. Lots of storage space. 2 cup holders in front, 1 ltr bottle holder in all doors. Closed space to hold your Sunglass/Mobile and more than enough glovebox(Cooled glovebox is a joke, no seriously).

Exterior : Having seen Grand i10, i can say Hyundai did good job in integrating boot unlike MS. It is not ugly, neither jaw-dropping. Just about right. Minimalistic used of fluidic design is good and i can rate it 4/5. Overall happy with the way it looks. Although, such tiny tires do look bad on Xcent. But i can live with that. Tail lights looks sexy and front lights looks OK.

Last but not least, FE : Are you kidding? FE? that too for petrol car? But still it is giving me good 14-15kmpl(Tank-to-Tank) in my mixed driving condition(70:30 highway-city) with sedate driving. Guess the figures will improve after First Service.

Overall i am happy with Xcent S 1.2, and I am enjoying it every moment. I would suggest it anyone who is not aggressive driver and need VFM car.

Will update this post with additional information and pictures later...

Service Update :

1st Service @ around 1200 kms was just some washing and inspection. So bill came @ 0 INR. Hyundai drop & pick it up for 150 INR

2nd Service @ 9800kms. Total bill came @ 2680 INR + 150 INR for Pick-up & Drop. I have forgot to have mud-flaps during first service and forgot it to install then. So I reminded them about this, which is promptly taken care. Cleaning is top-notch, and reported issue with steering(while turning left, got a very minute tik sound), which is also taken care of.

Driveability after 9800kms/2nd Service :

I don't think anyone would have driven a petrol car close to 10k kms within 8 months, but I did. There were quite a few(say 15-20 times) occasions where the bottom was scraped/hit in uneven roads, due to my own negligence. And those were not big issues, and I am glad. Apart from almost invisible scratch near passenger door handle and somewhat visible one in rear bumper, car still looks new.

Driverability haven't changed a bit and still feels like new. Clutch is worth mentioning, as even after such abusive use in city conditions, it is still soft and give me peace of mind while driving at B2B traffic. Mileage hasn't changed a bit and still hovers around 13-14 in city and 17-18 in highways. Braking is awesome as usual, and saved me in a couple of situations.

So to sum it up, car looks and drives like new one. Have nothing major to complain about. ASS is excellent and prompt. I always wanted a service indicator in Xcent, but with people start calling you a month before your service schedule, who need an service reminder(and I still don't know whether my car have one :D ).

^^ Thanks anshuman. I already drove around 700kms within 12 days and hope will go to first service by next week mid. One question though, will they do wheel balancing & alignment in 1st service? If yes, the will they charge for it? Cause my everyday commute consists of 6kms of very bad roads and i wanna make sure my alignment & balance is not out of sync.

One more question, when cleaning the car, i have 2 cloth, one i dip in water, squeeze and clean the car. And after than use the dry cloth of wipe of the remaining water. Is that correct?

^^ Thanks anshuman. I already drove around 700kms within 12 days and hope will go to first service by next week mid. One question though, will they do wheel balancing & alignment in 1st service? If yes, the will they charge for it? Cause my everyday commute consists of 6kms of very bad roads and i wanna make sure my alignment & balance is not out of sync.

One more question, when cleaning the car, i have 2 cloth, one i dip in water, squeeze and clean the car. And after than use the dry cloth of wipe of the remaining water. Is that correct?

Owned Grand considering it as same to xcent-boot as you said
First servicing is routine check up, not even engine oil is going to be chnaged so dont expect a change in FE.

you can refer backside of service coupon there it will be mentioned if at all balancing/alignment etc according to me they wont do all those stuff

Congrats furious_driver. Hope you clock many more enjoyable miles. I have just completed 3000kms and its even more refined and smooth.Have just ordered for seat covers.Shall post the pics once I install them.

Do tyre alignment and balancing every 5000 kms or if you think car is deviating from the road on its own or the tyre wobbles at high speed.

And first service bill should be zero (they might charge 30-50 rupees for windshield washer if they add it) and sc are known to charge money for useless things like supercharger , additives, carbon cleaning.

Just a caution, don't go for all these things ,whatever the adviser says. Check the manual for all the necessary things to be done.

Do tyre alignment and balancing every 5000 kms or if you think car is deviating from the road on its own or the tyre wobbles at high speed.

And first service bill should be zero (they might charge 30-50 rupees for windshield washer if they add it) and sc are known to charge money for useless things like supercharger , additives, carbon cleaning.

Just a caution, don't go for all these things ,whatever the adviser says. Check the manual for all the necessary things to be done.

Thanks. I will follow this. I setup in my mind that whatever he claims, i will do as the owner's manual says. The reason i wanted to alignment/balancing was to make sure if it is not changed. I don't have any issue like wobbling or car deviating.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anshuman8

That is common for all TAI-gers for browsing and checking TAI at home.

Yes, indeed. I don't even hide sexy pictures of hollywood actress, but if i open TAI or any forums, i will get bashing.